Leverage vanishes from Bitcoin perps as funding rates and open interest sink
The post Leverage vanishes from Bitcoin perps as funding rates and open interest sink appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Bitcoin perpetual futures open interest has stayed below 310K BTC since October’s liquidation, signaling muted leverage and weaker speculative activity. Summary Glassnode data show BTC perpetual futures open interest has failed to recover above roughly 310K BTC since an October leverage reset. Funding rates have trended lower, highlighting fading leveraged long conviction and traders’ reluctance to pay a premium for upside exposure. The “ghost town” in perpetuals suggests a quieter, de-risked derivatives backdrop that can dampen volatility versus prior stages of the cycle. Bitcoin’s (BTC) perpetual futures market has experienced a significant decline in speculative activity, with Open Interest remaining at suppressed levels, according to analysis from blockchain analytics firm Glassnode. PERPETUAL IS A GHOST TOWN Since the major reset on 10/10, BTC-denominated open interest has fallen and stayed below 310K BTC, unable to recover toward the >380K BTC highs seen earlier in the cycle.Speculative participation remains deeply muted. pic.twitter.com/pHjZX7cqy1 — CryptoVizArt.₿ (@CryptoVizArt) December 8, 2025 In a post on social media platform X, Glassnode senior researcher CryptoVizArt. characterized the perpetual futures market as a “ghost town,” citing data showing reduced trading activity and leverage. Bitcoin perps continue to shed Open Interest, which measures the total amount of open positions on centralized derivatives platforms, experienced a sharp decline in October following a drop in Bitcoin’s price, according to the analysis. The metric tracks the aggregate value of outstanding futures contracts across exchanges. Following the October liquidation event, Open Interest remained near lows before showing a brief uptick in mid-November as Bitcoin’s price continued to decline. The indicator peaked alongside what has served as the cryptocurrency’s price bottom thus far, according to the data. Since that peak, Open Interest has declined again, approaching the same low levels observed after the October liquidation event, the analysis showed. The decline in speculative participation…
Filed under: News - @ December 9, 2025 12:26 pm